Construction of columns, arches, floors, bins, &amp;c.



N0- 805,386. PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905. A. V. SIMS. CONSTRUCTION OF COLUMNS, ARGHES, FLOORS, BINS, &0.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13.1904.

Alfred? 7 5072;

witnesses lnomoz IUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED V. SIMS, OF IOWA- CITY, IOI/VA.

CONSTRUCTION OF COLUMNS, ARCHES, FLOORS, BINS, 800.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1 905.

Application filed June 13, 1904. Serial No. 212,406.

T0 on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED V. Sins, of Iowa City, in the county of Johnson and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theConstruction of Columns, Arches, Floors, Bins, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to utilize the forces in granular substances in the construction of floors, arches, columns, bins, &c.

It is demonstrable by my invention that granular substances-such as sand, gravel, broken stone, foundry-shot, &c.-being given sufiicient support as against gravity will sustain external forces, the internal stresses induced by the external load or pressure traveling to the nearest resistant surface ofiering reaction, while the lines followed by the centers of pressure of these internal stresses conform with the funicular or equilibrium pologon of the external loads and the reactionsinduced thereby. To utilize the internal stresses of granular substances suitably supported against gravity, plates, disks, or other tensile resisting-materials should intersect the path of such forces, the friction or lateral resistances developed on the surfaces thereof serving to arrest the dissipation of the forces and to concentrate them on the interposed plates, disks, or the like similar to reactions of equal resistances, thus relieving the horizontal forces, as against a retaining-wall.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows in cross-section the application of the invention in the construction of arches; Fig. 2, a section of flooring, and Fig. 3 a column constructed in accordance with my invention.

The invention herein outlined may be employed for various purposes and uses, the essential being, aside from sufiicient support against the action of gravity, that there be placed within the granular body plates or disks to arrest the lateral dissipation of the forces and concentrate them.

To enable the invention to be more fully understood, I have illustrated certain applications thereof in the accompanying drawings, wherein in Fig. 1 I have shown a body 1, of sand or other non-coherent granular substance, located between two walls or lateral haunchesQ and supported as against gravity by a base-strip 3, of tin or any suitable material sufficient for that purpose. Intersecting the body 1 are tension-resisting plates or disks 4, placed in a generally transverse direction to the reactions and the induced compressive stresses. These plates may be attached to the under support and may be of tin, steel, or other metal, concrete, &c. The base-strip serves not only to hold as against gravity the mass of sand or other granular substance, but also the small forces escaping in directions parallel to the intersecting plates.

In Fig. 2 l have shown the application of the invention to flooring or beam constructions, wherein the base-strip 5 holds the granular mass as against gravity, the friction on the interposed plate 4 serving also to hold the former up against the forces of gravity as well as the escaping horizontal portions.

A further application of the invention is indicated in Fig. 3, which shows a column 6 of sand orthe like with spaced-apart horizontallydisposed plates or disks 7 and an outer inclosure or covering 8 of any suitable material. The disks 7 are placed at intervals in planes at right angles to the axis of the column. While these plates or disks are transverse to the applied load, in the arch and floor construction they are transverse to the induced compressive stresses.

Although I have specified sand as the noncoherent granular substance, it is to be understood that the use of gravel, broken stone, foundry-shot, wheat, coal, &c., are equally within the scope of my invention, and I may also use cement, lime, concrete, clay, or other material to aid in forming a support as against gravity. In fact, any granular substance capable of withstanding external pressure less than that required to crush the individual pieces or particles is within the scope of the invention. The intersecting plates or disks may be made of metal, cement, or concrete, or a combination thereof, and acertain proportionof clay, mineral wool, &c., may be employed to prevent the injurious eifect of tremors or vibrations, the clay also affording a plastic matrix to prevent any flow of the granular substance due to the action of gravity, which result may also be secured by the mineral wool, which compacts the granular bodies.

It is manifest from what has been said that the interposed plates in offering resistance to the internal stresses by the reactions thereon may aid also in holding up the bottom support, the sand forming a funicular or equilibrium curve.

' My invention is especially applicable in fireproof construction; in false work of masonry arches; in strengthening concrete arches by application to spandrel filling; in strengthening floors and in hidden arches used to support the loads over lintels; in arresting the lateral thrust or force against the sides of Wheat, coal, and other bins, 620.

I may use lime or other alkali or preservative to prevent the metal from corroding within the granular bodies.

I claim as my invention 1. The herein -described improvement in columns, flooring, arching, bins, &c., consisting in a body of non-coherent granular substance, a support therefor as against gravity, and means interposed in the granular body for offering resistance to the internal stresses, such means being positioned at an angle to the line of stress.

2. The herein-described improvement in columns, flooring, arching, bins, &c., consisting in a body of non-coherent granular substance, a support therefor as against gravity, and plates or disks positioned in such granular body at an angle to the line of stress.

3. An arch or flooring consisting of laterals, an interposed body of sand or other granular substance, an under support therefor, and

spaced-apart plates or disks embedded in the granular body in juxtaposition to the under support, said plates or disks offering reaction to the internal stresses induced by external loads or pressure.

4. An arch or flooring consisting of lateral haunches or supports, an interposed body of sand or other non-coherent granular substance, an under support therefor, and spacedapart plates, disks or other tension-resisting substances embedded in the granular body and attached to the under support, such plates or disks intersecting the internal stresses induced by the external forces and the reactions against said laterals.

5. The herein-described improvement in columns, flooring, arching, bins, &c., consisting of a body of granular substance and means intermixed therewith to prevent flow of the particles due to gravity, a support as against gravity, and means interposed through out the granular mass for offering resistance to the internal compressive stresses, such means being positioned at an angle to the line of stress.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specilication in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

ALFRED V. SIMS.

\Vitnesses:

O. F. HUEBNER, J r., J. M. O'r'ro. 

